https://www.scmp.com/rss/502101/feed Emily is a freelance journalist, mostly focusing on Kachin State, Myanmar. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com When Kai Ring was 17, she and her sisters set out from their hometown of Myitkyina, the capital of Myanmar’s northernmost Kachin State, for the world’s largest jade mine, in Hpakant, 150km away. “When we arrived, there was no [industry] other than jade,” says Kai Ring. “We didn’t have capital to trade it, so we dug.” A lot has changed since her arrival in 1989. Over the decade that followed, Hpakant’s mines were taken over by Myanmar’s armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, and carved up into... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3097072/myanmars-largest-jade-mining-town-semi-precious?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3097072/myanmars-largest-jade-mining-town-semi-precious?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Aug 2020 08:05:32 +0000 After crossing illegally into Malaysia in 2016 from Myanmar, Sabe Phyu and Banyar contacted a Burmese agent who promised to arrange work visas for them. Instead, the agent disappeared with Sabe Phyu’s passport and 7,800 ringgit (US$1,800). The couple have since eked out a fragile existence, pushed to the breaking point during the coronavirus pandemic. On February 18, Banyar was arrested during a raid on the restaurant where he worked. Following a month in detention, he was deported. Sabe Phyu... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3093703/no-way-out-undocumented-migrants-caught-between-rock-and-hard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3093703/no-way-out-undocumented-migrants-caught-between-rock-and-hard?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jul 2020 00:30:16 +0000 Faced with the threat of a coronavirus pandemic which could have devastating effects in a country with poor health infrastructure, Myanmar’s government and many ethnic armed organisations have taken steps to put aside their ongoing conflict to fight a common enemy. Myanmar has so far tested more than 17,000 people for Covid-19 and identified 199 confirmed cases out of a population of 54 million. Along the country’s northeastern border with China, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), one... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3085727/life-coronavirus-quarantine-camp-myanmar-china-border?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3085727/life-coronavirus-quarantine-camp-myanmar-china-border?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 May 2020 08:30:07 +0000 The Burmese-language video “A Visit to Wuhan” starts innocuously, introducing the city as a developed commercial hub with more than 11 million people. Melancholy violin music begins, as the narrator adds, “People in Wuhan eat different foods than in other countries, especially wildlife … In that city, bat soup is really famous.” Zooming in on a market vendor chopping a large snake, the video then cuts to a girl biting into a bat’s wing. “A strange virus has arrived and many people died … We... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3048453/wuhan-coronavirus-how-facebook-clickbait-fuels-perfect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3048453/wuhan-coronavirus-how-facebook-clickbait-fuels-perfect?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Jan 2020 23:30:10 +0000 While the US-China trade war plays to the audience on the global stage, behind the scenes the two superpowers are engaged in a unique tug of war for influence in one of the world’s more remote corners. Myitkyina, the capital of Myanmar’s Kachin State about 1,200km north of Yangon, rarely features on tourist bucket lists. Despite its verdant scenery and dynamic culture and traditions, it suffers from high rates of poverty and drug addiction, and has been the scene of a conflict between the Kachin... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3045606/chinese-money-us-human-rights-myanmars-kachin-state-delicate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3045606/chinese-money-us-human-rights-myanmars-kachin-state-delicate?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Jan 2020 06:00:08 +0000 When Khine and Min announced their engagement in Yangon, Myanmar, few were in favour. Some of Khine’s friends told her that as a Buddhist woman, she should not marry a Muslim man; others warned her that Min’s proposal was part of a Muslim plot to take over the country. Her family didn’t need to give a reason. “[There was] already a common understanding about Muslims as bad guys. It was obvious that I was not allowed to marry a Muslim man,” said Khine, 30, who requested the use of pseudonyms for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3027143/myanmar-marriage-between-buddhists-christians-and-muslims-taboo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3027143/myanmar-marriage-between-buddhists-christians-and-muslims-taboo?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Sep 2019 00:45:10 +0000